Australia piques furry interest in 2021 Summer Olympics with anthro characters

Not since the 1980s have anthropomorphic animals and the Olympics come together more than in the news out of Australia in the past few weeks. As the Summer Olympics get ready to begin after a year's delay due to the global pandemic, one artist has brought some furry thunder for the teams Down Under.

With just over a week until #Tokyo2020 gets underway, @RoyalAustMint and @Woolworths have teamed up to release limited edition Olympic and Paralympic $2 coins 💰 pic.twitter.com/l24GMChArC— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) July 13, 2021

Australian artist Landeg was revealed to be the creator of the sporting kangaroo characters commissioned to be used in promotional material for the Summer Games. Since these revelations, the mainstream press had caught onto the story of furry mascot infiltration.

As noted by Junkee, the mascot designs are actually an anthroization of prior animal designs used in the 2000 Olympic games. Particularly Lizzie, a Frill Neck Lizard who has been the mascot of the Paralympic team – here she is before and after the makeover.

Landeg said they were requested to give their mascots a manga look, because of the games' host, Japan. Given the prior animal mascot history of Australia, and the desire to give them an anime flair, going with an Anime Furry style seems like a natural route. The artist noted that they were aware that their work would draw the attention of the furry community, even though their government employer was unfamiliar with the fandom. Perhaps they should look into FurDU if they are curious.